A House Judiciary subcommittee approved legislation Tuesday designed to speed resolution of disputes in federal government workplaces.
The legislation (H.R. 3312) introduced by Rep. George Gekas, R-Pa., was approved on a voice vote by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law chaired by Gekas.
The proposal, which has bipartisan support, goes to the full committee for action. It would set up a three-year pilot program that would let federal employees volunteer to have their disputes with employers settled by an arbitration process at the earliest stages before workers appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board which handles a variety of government employee grievances.
The legislation sent to the full committee was an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Gekas, which he described as mainly technical changes recommended by the Justice Department and Merit Systems Protection Board. The amendment passed by voice vote.
MSPB, Gekas said, handled nearly 8,000 cases last year with a staff of only 71 administrative judges. "H.R. 3312 would help reduce this caseload by encouraging federal agencies and employees to explore alternatives to formal litigation before the board," Gekas told his subcommittee.
Ranking Democrat Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., noted the pilot program, which have a funding authorization of $1 million each year, was voluntary and that it was not designed to undercut collective bargaining agreements between government agencies and employees.